Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
Talk about going from the sublime to the ridiculous! A day after coming off the Zambezi I was on the slopes of Kilimanjaro with a small private group of six clients – 3 women and 3 men aged from their early 30’s to late 50’s. Dr Rob Barbour, one of my African business partners, joined to assist with guiding the climb. There is no better hand than Rob’s to guide you up the mountain. A medico by trade, Rob spent many years as the doctor to Australia’s elite Special Air Service Regiment.
We climbed via the Machame Route over 6 nights/7 days. In my experience this is far and away the best route up the mountain for a variety of reasons; firstly it allows good time for acclimitisation without spending too much time on the mountain. Secondly it is widely considered the most scenic route commencing in the west and finishing in the east. Finally there’s less traffic than other routes given that any climb via Machame needs to be fully supported. To that end we have a dedicated camp and crew of staff and porters supporting us, physically AND mentally!
We were blessed with the most amazing weather conditions of any of my summits of Kili; a perfect clear, still and relatively warm summit night. I am proud to report that all 6 climbers summited with no incidents. I’m also proud to report that our record of success with clients on Kili over the years stands in excess of 90%.
Well that’s it for me for the moment. I am off again next week for another climb. This time we have a much larger group heading up Kili for the sake of a charity for children’s hospitals, based out of Sydney, called “Humpty Dumpty”. I will let you know how we fare in once we get back.
The very best to you all,
Brad